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I'm running XP Home.

chkdsk refuses to scan my C:\ drive. The error that comes up each time is that it "Cannot open volume for direct access."

I have put a password on my hard drive along with the BIOS, but I tried removing the one for the hard drive and I still get this error.

I also remember seeing some blurb about drive letters changing in my BIOS when I switched the boot order around a bit. So I tried changing it back, still no go. Currently it's set up to search for an operating system on the hard drive first then the rest for extra security.

This really isn't too much of a hassle and I can live with it, but it's been a long time since I ran it so I thought that it was due. Plus I've decided to add it to my regular maintanance routine, but only if I can get it to work properly.

I've run chkdsk successfully twice before, but then I forgot how to run the program until now, so there we go. (C:\ Properties dialog box.)

Thank you for reading. Any help is appreciated.

chkdsk /fix will want a reboot, but if you're getting "Cannot open volume for direct access.", that might not be enough.

Try going to Start > Run > and type in chkdsk /fix, then reboot. See what that does.

If that doesnt help...try going to my computer..disc C..rite clik..properties..tools tab and run the check and repair wizard in there..you will have to reboot for it to take effect.

I have the same problem.
Apparently its a known problem with WinXP, MS knows about it but has no fix for it yet.

google for "cannot open volume for direct access" and read through the results for possible temporary fixes.

I'm at work right now and I myself just noticed this problem today so I havent had the time to look through it myself just yet.

Keep us informed.

You should be able to boot to a floppy or CD and run chkdisk from there.

Alternatively, there are tools if you're willing to pay some money... I have Executive Software Diskkeeper, for example, which offers the option to do boot time defraging and will optionally run CHKDSK first as part of that process.

A thanks goes out to emkubed. "chkdsk /fix" worked.

For future reference, what is it exactly that I did to make it work? What I mean is, what does "/fix" do?

LicketySplit wrote:

If that doesnt help...try going to my computer..disc C..rite clik..properties..tools tab and run the check and repair wizard in there..you will have to reboot for it to take effect.

Actually, this is how I got to Scandisk or CHKDSK from Windows in the first place.

Thanks to the rest of you for your time.


Oh, and I found a few of these. Hope it helps you gubbar924:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 823439

I am unable to run CHKDSK, it cannot lock or open volume for direct access

How to lock / unlock the hard disk drive

Windows XP Home and Professional Edition Patch: NTFS chkdsk.exe Update